“ESS! ESS! ESS!” echoed across Rinker Field as the Elite Stetson Steppers took their places on stage at Stetson’s Homecoming Pep Rally. Stetson students were pushing vigorously through the jam-packed crowd to watch the Elite Stetson Steppers perform. A flood of hands raised to the sky as the ladies began to perform. Each step and clap created an undeniable energy among the crowed as they screamed and cheered. Nobody was ready for what was about to take place. Elite Stetson Steppers murdered the stage.

Elite Stetson Steppers began their journey just last year as Jaira Jackson and Shinazia Sweeting, co-captains of Stetson’s stepping organization, created Stetson’s first ever stepping dance team.

Jackson and Sweeting had come out of the gym one day reminiscing about their days when they used to step as children and realized how much they missed it. “Why don’t we come up with a step team, get a group of girls together and make the first step team here at Stetson?” Sweeting said.

And that’s exactly what they did. However, creating a stepping organization was not as easy as stepping itself. The executive board takes two to three days out of their busy school week to prepare routines and chants, aside from actual practices and performances.

All choreograph and chants are done by all three executive board members and that comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. “The pros are the different variety of styles. Kim is the ballet and more lyrical type, Shinazia is more hardcore, and me, I’m more like modern, but incorporate different culture dances I learned,” Jackson said.

Despite each of their different dancing styles, they manage to work together and create a unique routine. “What we come up with tends to be really cool, after we finish we’re just like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe we just did this’,” Sweeting said.

Working together as a team to produce quality work presents some obstacles as well. “Sometimes it takes a little longer,” Jackson said with a snicker, “because we’re all trying to incorporate our ideas and we don’t want to seem like we are overstepping each other.”

And even though two heads are better than one, when Jackson and Sweeting are at conflict about a certain issue, having a third opinion helps. “It’s better to have an odd number, because if they do butt heads, problems can be solved a lot quicker,” said Kimberly Whyte, secretary of Elite Stetson Steppers.

A typical practice for the step team is usually two hours long for two days a week, and consists of stretches, learning a new step routine, going over previous stepping routines, and preparing for upcoming performances, making sure “hands are sharp, facials are good, feet are hard, and chants are clear,” Sweeting said.

As serious as they are about producing quality work, they do not fail on having fun. Every now and then, the members get to socialize during breaks or “just dance around to music that Jaira puts on,” said Kylie Aviles, a freshmen at Stetson University stepping for the first time ever; “it’s really fun.”

Like with everything else you work hard at, obstacles are inevitable. As the first ever stepping organization at Stetson University, they faced aversion. “The original name of the organization was Delta Chi Delta, but due to issues with our name from other Greek organizations, we decided to change the name to Elite Stetson Steppers,” Sweeting said.

Their biggest challenge in creating a step team at a predominately white institution such as Stetson University has been “trying to explain to the school or just different people what step is,” Jackson said.

Stepping is a way to build confidence, learn a new style of dance, and meet new people. The step routines are highly hip-hop and R&B based, but “they don’t understand that this is not a typical black people dance,” said Jackson. Stepping is a passion for these girls, a lifestyle that they have decided to pursue.

Most of their issues do not derive from the student body, but the administration itself. “The students always say it’s so cool when they see us, but the administration always has to have technicalities,” Whyte said.

Not to mention that their only way of communicating with administration is through e-mail, making it hard for them to explain what step is in a paragraph or two. “Even when we send them a clip, they still don’t understand,” Jackson said.

But nothing stops these girls. Their biggest achievement has been building a unique friendship among themselves. “The step team is like our family, these girls are really good friends of ours and we kind of like coming to practice all the time, laughing with them, just making jokes,” Sweeting said.

Surprisingly, these girls have only stepped with each other for a year, and most of their members are first time steppers. “I did not know what stepping was until I got here, one of my friends dragged me to step and that was it,” Aviles said. Diamante McKay, a freshmen at Stetson University stepping for the first time ever as well, shares a similar story. “I’ve seen step only in movies, but that’s it. Then I saw Shinazia and Kim in Zumba and they told me to come to step practice, and I did," McKay said.

For those who are interested in joining, “Just do it,” said Aviles and McKay. Elite Stetson Steppers are looking to grow their membership, especially in recruiting males. “Don’t feel like you need to have previous stepping experience. Just try it out,” Jackson said. This diverse group is in need of all talent. “Everyone has their own personal voice while stepping,” Whyte said.

These group of girls have big plans for the future as well. This upcoming spring semester, the step team will be performing at basketball games and are planning to travel to step competitions all over the country and become a serious competitive team.

“I don’t want the step organization to just sink when we leave, I want to leave a legacy,” Sweeting said.